Election 2015: We'll lose votes to UKIP, say Loony Party

The Official Monster Raving Loony Party is losing votes to UKIP, leader Alan "Howling Laud" Hope has said.

Mr Hope said Nigel Farage had often joked with him that the two parties should form a coalition.

The Loony Party - formed in 1982 by Screaming Lord Sutch - is running 15 candidates on 7 May.

Previously it has campaigned for pet passports, all-day pub opening, votes at 18 and the legalisation of commercial radio.

Mr Hope joked that the party had often been called the "government's think tank", as all of these ideas gained mainstream favour and reached the statute books.

'You kip, we sleep'

Appearing on BBC Two's Daily Politics, the leader - who is seeking election in Uxbridge and Ruislip South, where London Mayor Boris Johnson is also standing - gave a sneak preview of the party's 2015 manifesto pledges.

They include:

• fitting airbags to the stock exchange ready for the next financial crash

• leave the EU and join the Duchy of Cornwall to benefit from tax exemptions

• secure people's data in brown bags hidden in MPs' socks and pants drawers

It was still the party's aim to tackle global warming by fitting air-conditioning units on the outside of buildings, he said.

"We think it's a jolly good idea, a lot of people think it's a jolly good idea too," he added.

Asked whether he still stood by claims that Mr Farage's UKIP party were taking votes off the party, he said: "I think so, I think they are yes, definitely.

"Nigel Farage often says to me 'there ought to be a coalition between us and you'.

"I said, 'yes Nigel: you kip, we sleep'."

In the past, none of the candidates standing for the Loony Party has ever retained the £500 deposit, which is returned if a candidate gets at least 5% of votes cast.

The Official Monster Raving Loony Party had to find a new financial backer after bookmakers William Hill pulled the plug on its sponsorship last year.

Mr Hope told the BBC a new sponsor had stepped into the breach: pub chain JD Wetherspoon.

A list of the other candidates standing for election in Uxbridge and South Ruislip can be found here.